Sight Unseen
by Sambalam
Summary: Something has killed 4 Nietzscheans and Harper may be next. Will the crew save him in time?
1. Chapter 1

Captain Dylan Hunt walked down one of the many similar looking corridors of the Andromeda Ascendant. It was good to take a walk down the corridor instead of the usual run-for-your-life routine he experienced on a regular basis. The walk; however, would never have happened unless he'd been called by the ship's engineer, Seamus Harper. Even now, Harper was crouching on the floor, messing around with the circuitry in the door panel. On the plasma screen above, Andromeda's digital self was watching him with a mixture of interest and annoyance. Dylan stood a casual distance away from Harper, though the engineer didn't seem to notice. Dylan and Andromeda shared a humored glance before Dylan gently cleared his throat. "Mr. Harper." Dylan said. Harper looked over his shoulder, his trademark overly confident grin beaming brighter than usual. "Hey, boss," Harper said. The spiky haired young man placed the metal plate over the naked circuitry in the wall before standing at his full height. "Rommie said you wanted to see me? Something about improving security?" Dylan said. Harper didn't answer the question outright. Instead, he stood in front of the door he'd been working next to. The door didn't open. The motion sensors didn't kick in to allow him access into the room. "Open sesame!" Harper exclaimed dramatically, raising his hands in the air like a biblical prophet. Dylan watched skeptically as the door automatically opened. "You.?" Dylan said. Harper held up his hand to silence his captain. "Close sesame!" Harper said with as much enthusiasm used when the door opened. The door quickly closed after the command was given. Harper crossed his arms over his chest proudly. "What did you do?" Dylan asked. "Simple as it may sound, I reprogrammed the door to function according to sound waves instead of motion. That way, if any nasty aliens ever decide to grace us with their presence, we can easily navigate through the ship while they're still trying to get through the doors," Harper explained. "I'm impressed, Mr. Harper," Dylan said. "Thank you." "But, why isn't the door opening now? Why isn't it rapidly opening and closing while you speak if it's programmed to recognize your voice?" Dylan asked. "Excellent question, Dylan. One that I can answer. I also programmed the door to recognize a key word that'll trigger opening and closing," Harper said. "Sesame?" "Best I could come up with on short notice. But it could be anything. We could use the word.I don't know.banana as the trigger. As long as it's far from our normal speech or else a lotta doors'll be opening and closing," Harper said. Dylan stared at the door for a moment, considering his options. "We could use it on certain doors: Hydroponics, Med Deck, Command. Could you make the voice recognition separate from the motion sensors?" Dylan asked. Harper paused in thought. "Yeah! It could be like a .a safety measure. Andromeda gets invaded, internal defenses go up and important doors automatically switch to voice recognition instead of motion detection," Harper said. "Exactly what I was thinking," Dylan said. "Hey, great minds think alike," Harper said, laughing. "Harper, it's time!" called Trance's voice from down the corridor. Anxiety quickly invaded Harper's face. Frenzied, he scrambled to pick up the remaining tools sprawled out on the floor. Stuffing the tools into his tool belt, he could hear Trance getting closer. "Harper?" Dylan began. "Uh, gotta go, boss. I'll get working on the doors," Harper said. Without looking, Harper sprinted forward, only to smash right into the door he'd been working on; the program still voice oriented. Harper cupped his hand over his nose, wincing in pain. "I think Harper just proved the flaw in his door programming. In times of panic, words are completely forgotten," Andromeda said through the plasma screen. "Excellent point, Andromeda," Dylan said. Trance came running around the corner, a hypo-spray in her hand. Her eyes stared determinedly at Harper, but the engineer had other plans. In his second attempt to escape the golden woman quickly approaching, Harper was stopped by Dylan's heavy hand on his shoulder. "Not so fast, Harper." "Boss, this really isn't necessary," Harper said, his confident grin slowly fading. "You can't keep putting this off, Harper," Trance said. She began lifting his sleeve but Harper pulled away. "I don't need it, Trance," Harper snapped. "Don't need what?" Dylan asked. "His booster shot. He needs it so he won't get sick. It keeps his immune system stable," Trance explained. "Trance, I'm not gonna get sick. Rommie's cleaner than last week's laundry. There's no way I could pick anything up," Harper said. "It's not to prevent illness, Harper. Your shots are helping your immune system in case you do get sick so it can fight back," Trance said. She could see the twinge of sadness in Harper's normally sparkling eyes. He hated being reminded how weak he was in comparison to everyone else. "I'm surprised you're acting this way. You've had these shots since you were on the Maru." "It was kinda necessary back then," Harper said. "It's necessary now," Trance replied. He looked at Trance, hoping to find a way to wriggle out of getting the shot. Looking into her eyes, he could tell she wasn't going to back down. He sighed dejectedly before putting his arm out. Trance smiled. She lifted his sleeve and pressed the hypo into his arm. Harper flinched, rubbing his arm when the shot was over. Her smile remaining constant, Trance pulled Harper's sleeve down and gave his hand a quick squeeze. "See? That wasn't so bad." "Easy for you to say," Harper grumbled. Dylan chuckled. "Do you want a lollipop?" Trance asked playfully. Harper scoffed at her remark. "Trance, I'm not a little kid," Harper said. "How 'bout a Sparky?" she offered. "Now we're on the same wave length," Harper said. Trance's brow furrowed in confusion over Harper's comment, but her impending question was cut off when Andromeda's hologram appeared next to Dylan. "Dylan, we're receiving a distress signal but they're not answering to hails," Andromeda reported. "What kind of ship?" Dylan asked. "A Nietzschean research vessel, The Lady Godiva. She's Drago-Katsov," Andromda informed them. Dylan sighed. Looking at his engineer, he could see the prominent anger and hatred filling the young man's eyes. Dylan turned back to Andromeda. "Set up Hanger 10 for rescue. Trance, get medical supplies ready. Harper, you're with me," Dylan said. Harper followed Dylan, purposefully keeping two steps back. His anger was palpable. "I can't believe we're helping those stupid Ubers," Harper said, his voice quiet, but loud enough for Dylan to hear. "They won't be here very long," Dylan said. "Singapore Drift is a few jumps away. We can take any survivors there to be dealt with." "You mean you're not gonna try and convert them into the Commonwealth?" Harper asked, picking up his pace until he was by Dylan's side. Dylan looked at his engineer, half-grinning. "You sound surprised," Dylan said. "Well, yeah. Usually you're all gung-ho about changing people's views toward the 'wonder and the glory of the Commonwealth,' even if they're enemies," Harper said. Dylan sighed, "Some enemies just aren't worth the time spent." "Wow," Harper breathed. "What?" "I never thought I'd see the day when Dylan Hunt would share my philosophy," Harper said. Dylan chuckled. By the time their friendly chat was over, the two men arrived at Hanger 10. The hanger doors were open and harpoons were slowly dragging the enemy ship inside. "Trance, is medical ready?" Dylan asked. "Maria's are on their way with stretchers," Trance answered. Heavy footsteps rounded the corner. Tyr Anasazi approached the hanger door, holding a Guass rifle. "Tyr, glad you could join us," Dylan said. He looked at the gun. "It is a research vessel." "Research or not, Drago-Katsovs are never unarmed," Tyr said. Harper immediately pulled out his Guass gun. Hesitantly, Dylan retrieved his force lance from its holster. They watched the vessel slide into the hanger. "Enemy vessel secured. Hanger 10 re-pressurized," Andromeda announced. The three men entered the hanger. The vessel sat quietly. No doors opened, no Nietzscheans rushed out to hold them hostage for control of the ship. There was only silence except for the hiss of smoke rising from the vents. Dylan inspected the code pad on the vessel's entrance. Harper made ready to pull out his probe but Dylan fired at the control pad, wasting no time to enter the vessel. Laying face down by the entrance was a body. Dylan leaned over the body while Tyr stood guard, making sure there was no ambush. "He's dead," Dylan said, standing again. They moved forward down the length of the ship, finding body after body lying on the floor. None of them were alive. "A whole ship full of dead Ubers," Harper said. "There is no battle damage and no wounds on the bodies," Tyr said after turning another body over. "What could kill so many Nitzscheans without warranting some sort of fight.struggle.anything?" Dylan said. "Maybe this one can tell us," Harper said. The young engineer was kneeling next to a fallen Nietzschean. "He's still alive.barely." "Trance, get those droids here NOW!" Dylan ordered. He turned to Tyr and Harper. "Tyr, get back to command and send Beka down. Harper, search the ship for anything of value. Catalogue it and put it into storage." "Gotcha," Harper said. "You'd better hope he lives," Tyr said, watching the Maria droids take the body away. "Why?" Dylan asked. "Because whatever killed them could kill us." 


	2. Chapter 2

Beka hurled another storage unit out of the Nietzschean ship with an audible grunt. Pushing the lid off with her foot, she inspected the contents. It was another box of scrap metal. Beka put the lid back on and pushed the storage unit away. "You'd think a research vessel would have more researchable things on board," Beka said, walking back into the ship. "You sound disappointed," Harper called, his voice echoing. The engineer was toward the back of the ship, examining a black box attached to the wall. "I am," Beka said, standing a few feet away from her friend. "I thought there might be something we could use against the Nietzscheans. Something important, ya know?" Harper faced Beka, smiling sympathetically. "I know. And I might be able to deliver on that one." "How?" Beka asked. Harper faced the black box. Feeling the edges with his fingers, he paused a moment in calculation before hitting the left side with his fist. The box's lid popped open. Harper peered inside the box, and then looked over at Beka in confusion. "What?" "It's a." Harper reached into the box and pulled out a flower sprouting from a pot of soil, "flower." "A flower?" Beka said. The flower was long stemmed, leaves of dark green pouring over the sides of the pot. The petals, five in number, were a soft pink with black spots. Stemming out of the petals were three pollen pods. "It must be important if they kept it locked up in a box," Harper said. "Must be rare," Beka said. "Why don't you take it to Hydroponics? Trance can take care of it when she's done curing our guest." "You sure you don't want me to stick around?" Harper asked. Beka smiled. "Don't worry, I'll have all the scrap sent to the machine shops so you can work your Harper magic," Beka said. "Hey, that magic works in places other than the machine shop," Harper said, waggling his eyebrows. "Out," Beka said, her smile never fading. Harper walked past Beka. He was practically out of the ship when curiosity got the better of him. He leaned in and took a quick whiff of the flower. He coughed immediately. "Phew!" Harper exclaimed, waving his free hand in front of his nose, his eyes squinting. "What?" Beka asked. "This flower reeks something awful! No wonder they kept it sealed in a box," Harper said. "You only have yourself to blame," Beka taunted. "Yeah, yeah, I know," Harper chimed, exiting the ship. Beka laughed to herself before sighing when she noticed another cargo unit she hadn't seen before. She didn't bother to open it, already knowing what was inside.  
  
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Trance ran another scanner over the unconscious Nietzschean. His heartbeat was barely registering and she'd attached a respirator to help him breathe, but she was sure, even if he did wake up, there would be no chance for a full recovery. He'd gone for too long without oxygen. Dylan stood on the opposite side of the bed, watching Trance work and watching the growing frustration invading her usually calm features. "How's it going?" Dylan asked. "It's not," Trance said. "What do we know?" Dylan asked. "There are no penetrating wounds, but there's massive damage to his vital organs. His entire body is shutting down.but I can't figure out why," Trance said. "What about the others?" Dylan asked. "The same thing; their bodies just stopped working," Trance said. "I- I don't understand, Dylan. I should be able to fix this." "Trance, it'll be okay. Andromeda is processing the log from the Nietzschean ship. With any luck, we should be able to figure out what happened," Dylan said, trying to give some comfort to his medical officer. Trance offered a weak smile. The alarm went off. The Nietzschean's body shook violently, the bed vibrating because of the force. Trance rushed to get the defibrillator. She clamped the box-like device over the Nietzschean's heart. "Clear!" she shouted. Activated by her voice alone, the defibrillator shocked the Nietzschean. His body jumped and fell limply back on to the bed. His heart still wasn't beating. "Clear!" Trance shouted again. Again his body jumped from the shock and fell on to the bed, but his heart showed no signs of life. Trance stepped away from the body and pressed a button on the medical console. The monotonous sound of the flat lined heart stopped and the respirator ceased to work. "Trance." Dylan said. "He's dead, Dylan. And I couldn't save him," Trance said. She detached the defibrillator and respirator before walking out of medical. Dylan sighed. He looked down at the dead body. "What happened?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Harper leaned against his unending project, the X-1. Sweat poured down his face as if he'd been through a training session with Tyr. He hadn't been doing anything overly exerting, just examining the scrap parts from the research vessel, but he felt exhausted. He hadn't been feeling well either. Every part of his body ached. He was getting hot flashes and he could feel a slight tremor flowing throughout his entire body. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Harper closed his eyes, feeling the cool metal of his pet project against his skin. He barely heard the door to the machine shop opening. "Harper?" echoed Rommie's voice in his mind. Forcing his eyes open, Harper blearily made out the form of Andromeda's sentient avatar, Rommie. She was staring at him, concern in her eyes, holding a Sparky in one hand. "Hey, Rommie," Harper said, smiling. Lifting his hand with more effort than he thought it would take, he pointed at the can of Sparky Cola. "Whatcha got there?" Rommie knelt in front of him. "Trance thought you might need one after your shot." She placed her hand on his forehead. "I think you should go to medical. You're running a fever." "I'm fine, Rommie. You're just exaggerating," Harper argued. He couldn't believe himself. Speaking was becoming an effort. "Can I have the Sparky?" Rommie gave him the Sparky. Instead of opening the can of cola, Harper pressed the can to his face. "Okay, you're going to medical," Rommie said. She grabbed Harper's arm, pulling him to his feet. The can of cola slipped out of his hand and hit the floor. Harper could barely focus on Rommie's face. He couldn't feel his legs. He would've fallen back to the floor if Rommie hadn't been there to catch him. His eyes rolled around, looking at everything in the shop but never focusing on one thing. He wasn't sure if he was sitting or standing but he knew Rommie was there and she was saying something. It sounded more like she was yelling. What was she yelling? It sounded like his name. Was it? He needed to say something to keep her from worrying. Focusing every last ounce of energy his body would give, Harper opened his mouth. "Rommie.I think.I should.go to.medical," he whispered. His energy gone, Harper's eyes closed and his body went slack in Rommie's arms. "Harper? Harper! Medical emergency, Machine Shop 5!" Rommie shouted. Gently, she shook Harper, but the engineer only moaned. Picking him up, Rommie rushed out of the machine shop, hoping she got to medical in time.  
  
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Dylan leaned against the console on the command deck. He'd just gotten the news of Harper's condition from Trance. He was sick, dying from the very same thing the Nietzscheans had. Trance was trying various drugs to combat whatever was killing the engineer, but none seemed to be working. The golden girl had also suggested that Dylan, Tyr, and Beka come to medical for an examination since they and Harper had all been in the Nietzschean ship. "Dylan, are you all right?" Andromeda's digital image asked. Dylan shook his head. "A member of my crew is dying. And for all I know Tyr, or Beka, or even I could be next," Dylan said. Andromeda looked away, her own emotions concerning Harper rising to the surface. "I've called everyone to Command," she said. "Why?" Dylan asked. "I've encoded the log from the Nietzschean ship," Andromeda said. As if on cue, everyone entered the command deck. All of them looked miserable. Beka was on the verge of tears, as was Trance. Tyr kept his mask of stoicism, but Dylan knew he cared for Harper just as greatly as everyone else. "How is he?" Dylan asked Trance. "Not good," Trance said. "Andromeda, play the log," Dylan said. Andromeda's image disappeared from the holo-screen. Replacing her was the face of a smiling Nietzschean, the one who'd died in medical. He looked excited to the point of hysterical joy. "Environmental Science Officer's Log, Percival Churchill. I'm happy to report that we've done it! We've found it! For three years we've been searching every known galaxy. Any planet or satellite we came across was searched thoroughly, and now.we've got it! We have The Mark of Cain!" said Churchill. Trance gasped. "Andromeda, stop the log," Dylan ordered. He turned to Trance. "Trance, what is it?" "I thought they were extinct! I was sure of it!" Trance said, mostly to herself. Dylan grabbed her shoulders. "Trance, what is it?" Dylan asked, his voice forceful. Trance looked into his eyes. "The Mark of Cain is a flower; a dangerous flower, Dylan. Its pollen is poisonous. It wiped out entire planets," Trance said. Beka stepped forward. "Harper found a flower in the ship," she said. "Did he smell it? Did you smell it?" Trance asked desperately. "I didn't smell it.but Harper did. I told him to take the flower to Hydroponics," Beka said. "Is there a cure?" Tyr asked. Trance thought for a moment. "I don't know. It's never been tried," Trance said. "Then we have to try now," Dylan said. "Harper's life depends on it." "I'm going!" Trance said. She rushed out of command. "Rommie, go help her," Dylan ordered. Rommie nodded and followed after Trance. Beka shifted her weight from one foot to the other several times before walking out of command. Dylan knew where she was going and wasn't about to stop her. "She may not be in time," Tyr said. "Harper may be lost to us." "I refuse to believe that, Tyr," Dylan said, turning to the stoic Nietzschean. "Just like I refused to believe that you were lost after the Genites attacked Orca Pride. I kept searching even with Harper telling me I had to accept the fact that you were gone. If I'd taken his advice, you wouldn't be here right now." "I apologize," Tyr said. "Don't. Just come help me get rid of the Nietzschean ship," Dylan said. Tyr nodded and walked with Dylan out of command. 


	4. Chapter 4

Beka slid her chair closer to Harper's bed. Gently, she began to stroke his blonde hair, now wet with sweat. His normally light skin somehow managed to invent a new color of pale. His chest rose and fell slowly with long pauses in between that made Beka fear he'd stopped breathing. She touched his cheek, feeling the heat radiating from the fever. Harper's body shuddered. Beka took his hand. "Harper, can you hear me?" Beka asked. A moan escaped from Harper's lips. She stroked his cheek again, ignoring the heat. "Come on, wake up." Harper's head moved toward the sound of Beka's voice. His eyes fluttered, taking an enormous amount of energy until they finally opened. He stared at her, but for a few agonizing seconds Beka felt he didn't recognize her at all. His eyes, normally a sparkling sapphire blue had dulled to a sickly gray. "Beka." he whispered, smiling. Even the fever couldn't destroy his smile. "Hey, Harper, how're you feeling?" she asked. It was a stupid question to ask a sick person, but it was always the first question out of her mouth when he was ill. "I feel great. Think I'll go a few rounds with Tyr once Trance releases me," Harper joked. Beka chuckled. Minutes passed and all they could do was look at each other. Years of memories flooding both their minds; some good, some bad. Beka couldn't stop a tear from rolling down her cheek. Harper frowned. He wanted nothing more then to wipe her tears away, make her feel better, but all his concentration was focused on keeping his eyes open despite his desire to sleep. Beka needed him right now. "Hey, heard any good jokes lately?" he asked. Beka laughed. She didn't want to but she couldn't help it. Still crying, she managed to reduce the laughter to a grin. "No, can't say that I have," she answered. "Probably best," Harper said. "Why's that?" Beka asked. "Hurts when I laugh," Harper said, grimacing. Beka squeezed his hand. She felt him squeeze back. "Well, I haven't heard any new jokes.but I do have a story," she said. "Yeah?" Harper asked, his voice sounding weaker. "Yeah. Wanna hear it?" she asked. "Okay," Harper said. "Well, once upon a time, there was a beautiful captain of a small freighter," Beka began. Harper smiled. "And, for a fair amount of years, she flew around the galaxies running cargo and salvage for various employers, all on her own. Then, one day, she met a little mudfoot from Earth and after a few regretful incidents with the captain's ex-boyfriend." Harper rolled his eyes, "she decided to keep the mudfoot on her ship. Turns out he was a pretty good engineer." "Pretty good?" Harper interjected. "All right, he was a genius. Anyway, they stayed together on the little freighter - the captain and the engineer - and took care of each other. No matter how many other crewmembers came and went, they were always constant. Their tentative relationship became friendship and their friendship turned them into family. The captain couldn't imagine her life without the engineer and she never wanted to. And whether they were running salvage or restoring a dead government, she always knew they'd be together. The End," Beka said. Harper took in a deep breath, his eyes beginning to droop. "That's a great story, Beka," he said. "But you left out the best part." "What's that?" she asked. "You left out the part where those years on the freighter with the beautiful captain were the happiest years of the little mudfoot's life. He cherished every moment with her, good or bad. And he vowed that for the rest of his life, he'd try to show her that taking him on wasn't a mistake," Harper said, tears slipping down his face. Beka wiped away his tears. "You were never a mistake, Seamus. You are the best thing to ever happen to me," she said. She felt him squeeze her hand. "Ditto," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He swallowed, grimacing from a wave of pain. He looked at Beka, his eyes bright with tears. "Beka." Beka heard the tone of his voice when he said her name. Her heart nearly stopped at the implications of one word. "No, Harper, don't you do that. Don't you say your goodbyes! Not yet. It's not time. We don't get to say goodbye until we're old and gray. You hear me, Harper?" Beka said, her voice angry that he would even think of saying goodbye. Harper nodded, his eyes only thin slits staring back at her. "Okay, boss," he whispered. "Promise me, Harper. Promise me you'll fight," Beka insisted. "Promise," Harper said. His eyes closed completely. Beka placed her fingers on his neck, feeling his pulse. She didn't care about the heart monitors; she needed to know for herself. "He's sleeping, Beka," Andromeda said, her hologram appearing on the other side of the bed. "He can't die, Andromeda. He just can't," Beka said. Andromeda wished she were solid so she could give some comfort to Beka. "I know," she said.  
  
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Trance stood next to the innocent looking flower. She wore a bio- filter mask to keep from breathing in the pollen. Taking her scissors, she carefully clipped the three pollen pods from the flower. Immediately, she transferred them into a portable spectrograph Rommie had brought from one of the machine shops. "How long will it take, Rommie?" Trance asked. "Not very long," Rommie responded. "You can take the mask off." "Sorry, I'm a little cautious," Trance said, removing the mask. "I'd always heard stories of this flower. No one survives." "We'll save Harper, Trance," Rommie said. Trance nodded. "Rommie, why is it no one else has started feeling sick? The pollen must have become air born," Trance said. "My filtration systems are far more advanced than the Nietzschean ship. Any pollen that did become air born would have either been picked up by filters or vented into the CO2 tanks," Rommie said. "And the Nietzschean vessel has a recyclable filtration system, right?" Trance asked. "When the pollen entered the ventilated atmosphere of the Nietzschean vessel, it was continually redistributed into the air. The Nietzscheans were always breathing it in," Rommie said. The spectrograph beeped loudly, indicating it was done with its analysis. Rommie closed her eyes, downloading the information. "Rommie?" Trance asked. "There's a cure," Rommie said. "Then let's go," Trance said. She stopped, gazing at the flower. "Make sure it's burned." 


	5. Chapter 5

Tyr and Dylan exited Hanger 10. After taking everything they could from the Nietzschean ship, they decontaminated ever inch of the hanger, getting rid of any trace of the flower's pollen. It was menial, time consuming work, but it was all they had to keep their minds off of Harper's condition. "Andromeda, de-pressurize Hanger 10 and dispel the ship," Dylan ordered. "Aye," Andromeda responded. The outside door opened and the Nietzschean vessel was slowly sucked out of the hanger, floating away into space. "As soon as it's within range, destroy it," Dylan ordered. "Aye, Captain," Andromeda said. Tyr stared at Dylan in confusion. "That ship brought nothing but trouble. I shouldn't have ordered a rescue," Dylan said, leaning against the wall. He sighed. "Now, Harper may die.and it's my fault." "Your shift to pessimism may have amused me three years ago.but now I find it disturbing," Tyr said. "I'm sorry if I'm not living up to your expectations," Dylan said. "You're not. You're living up to your own expectations and failing them miserably," Tyr said. The Nietzschean sat next to Dylan. "I will miss Harper if he dies. If he dies. The little professor is a survivor and I know he will fight. But his fight will be worthless if we don't believe in him." "Dylan," called Andromeda. "Yes, Andromeda?" "Trance and my avatar have synthesized a cure for Harper's condition. They are heading to medical," Andromeda said. "Let's go!" Dylan said. He and Tyr bounded from the wall and rushed down the nearest corridor to medical.  
  
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Beka entered medical again after hearing Andromeda's message about the cure. She was shocked when she saw how Harper's condition had deteriorated. Possibly paler than the last time, he was attached to a respirator. His chest rose and fell on a regulated schedule. Andromeda's hologram stood by his side, watching closely while Maria droids monitored the consoles. "He was having trouble breathing," Andromeda said. Beka stood on the other side of the bed, unable to stop her tears from flowing. Trance and Rommie entered the med deck, Trance holding a hypo-spray. "Is that it?" Beka asked Trance. Trance nodded and quickly went to work. Lifting the sleeve of the medical gown, she injected Harper with the antidote. Dylan and Tyr came in seconds later. "Is he all right?" Dylan asked. "We don't know," Beka said. She gently stroked Harper's cheek, willing him to open his eyes. "Open your eyes, Seamus." Harper's eyes opened weakly. He didn't seem to notice the respirator. His eyes smiled when he saw Beka. "Hey, Harper, you're gonna be okay," Beka said. She looked over her shoulder at Dylan and Tyr. "Everybody's here and we're all rooting for you." Harper searched the room, making eye contact with everyone. His smile never wavered. He looked back to Beka. She felt something brush her hand. Looking down, Harper's hand was open, inviting her to grab hold. She took his hand without a second thought. In those moments of joy she felt, thinking Harper would pull through, Beka didn't hear the sound of his heart rate speeding. She didn't even hear the sound of his heart going flat line. But she felt his grip on her hand relax to the point of it being nonexistent and she watched as his eyes rolled back, fluttering until they closed. "Harper! Seamus!" Beka shouted. "Beka, move!" Trance shouted. She had the defibrillator and clamped it over Harper's heart. "Clear!" Harper's body jumped but his heart didn't start. "Clear!" Trance shouted. Harper jumped again but still no heart beat shown. Trance looked at Dylan, the same look she'd had after the Nietzschean died. "No, Trance, that can't be it," Dylan said. "Do it again, Trance!" Beka shouted. "Beka." Trance started. "Again!" Beka ordered. Trance nodded. "Clear!" Trance shouted. For that brief moment, everyone held their breath. Harper jumped again. Instead of the droning tone of flat line, they heard the low, steady rhythm of Harper's heart beating. Trance sighed contentedly. "He's alive." They all needed to hear those words even if they heard his heart beating. Beka flew to Harper's side, gently stroking his hair and cheek, trying to stimulate his eyes to open. "You hear that, Harper? You made it. You've won," Beka whispered into his ear. She grabbed his hand and squeezed as hard as she could. When she loosened her grip, she felt the slightest pressure on her hand. She smiled, still stroking his hair. "You rest, Harper. I'll be here when you wake up." "We all will," Dylan said.  
  
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Trance walked into Hydroponics two weeks later, intending to do some much needed gardening. She stopped herself just as soon as she entered. Harper was standing by a group of new flowers she'd received form Singapore Drift via courier ship. She smiled warmly. Harper had been officially released from the med deck two days ago. He'd woken up two days after his near death experience, Beka by his side. He was weak and slept a great deal but he grew stronger with each passing day. It wasn't until the second week that Beka and Dylan started sneaking him little projects to work on. Harper even went as far as to direct repairs on the Maru using the com link since he wasn't strong enough to do the repairs himself. Trance finally let him go, telling him to take things slow while having Rommie update her on his condition every hour. Trance approached Harper, making sure her footsteps were loud so he knew she was there. "How're you feeling?" Trance asked. Harper smiled. Since waking up, he'd been smiling more often, but his smiles were different. There was more appreciation shining through than ever before. "Pretty good," he said. "You're not pushing yourself too hard?" Trance pressed. "I wouldn't be able to. I have you, Rommie, and Beka checking up on me every five seconds," he said, laughing good naturedly. "We're just concerned," she said. "I know," he said. He pointed at the new batch of flowers. "What're these called?" "I wouldn't think you'd want to be around flower for a while after." she cut herself off. "It's okay, Trance. I'm just curious," Harper said. "It's called the Sunset Blossom. Every ten years, the blossoms glow for an entire day," Trance said. "You like it? I could have one placed in your room." "That'd be great," Harper said. He paused, fidgeting on his feet. "Wanna know why I like it?" "Sure," Trance said. "Okay. Well, I'd have to say it's mostly the colors that I like. You see the outside petals? They're gold," Harper said. "Uh-huh," Trance said. Harper grinned. "But the inside of the flower, kinda blending with the gold, it's all purple," Harper said. Trance's smile grew, understanding the euphemism completely. "Harper, you're needed on command," Andromeda said. "On my way, Rommie," Harper said. He looked at Trance. "You'll make sure one of these gets to my room?" "Most definitely," Trance said. "See ya later," Harper said. She watched him walk away. She felt the tears forming in her eyes. One tear, fell down her cheek, landing on one of the petals of the Sunset Blossom. The flower glowed.  
  
The End 


End file.
